Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning pharmacists and other health care providers to watch for counterfeit and unapproved drugs through a new educational program known as Know Your Source. Aimed at protecting patients from unsafe and ineffective drugs, the program advises providers to only purchase drugs from wholesale drug distributors licensed in their state.

[bluecross] Independent Community Pharmacies Shine in Patient Satisfaction Survey
Pharmacist and staff interactions with customers are increasingly important drivers of customer satisfaction and greater spending in community pharmacies, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Pharmacy StudySM released last week.
Across pharmacy settings, customer satisfaction is highest in the community pharmacy segment, averaging 840 on a 1,000-point scale. Satisfaction is higher when a pharmacy and patient collaborate on an adherence plan to help ensure that the customer does not miss a dose of their medication, particularly those with a 30-day supply.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to be aware of products sold online claiming to prevent or treat the Ebola virus. Since the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, the FDA has seen and received consumer complaints about a variety of products claiming to either prevent the Ebola virus or treat the infection.

There are currently no FDA-approved vaccines or drugs to prevent or treat Ebola. Although there are experimental Ebola vaccines and treatments under development, these investigational products are in the early stages of product development, have not yet been fully tested for safety or effectiveness, and the supply is very limited. There are no approved vaccines, drugs, or investigational products specifically for Ebola available for purchase on the Internet. By law, dietary supplements cannot claim to prevent or cure disease.